INTRODUCTION Biochemistry

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INTRODUCTION Biochemistry
An Introduction to the Chemistry of Life for
Biology Students
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What is Life Made of?

• Everything is made up of atoms.
• Living things are made up of cells.
• Cells are made up of atoms.

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Atoms

• Six different elements (atoms) make up 98 of all
  living things
• Hydrogen
• Oxygen
• Carbon
• Nitrogen
• Phosphorous
• Calcium

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Molecules

• Definition A molecule is two or more atoms
  combined.

CO2
C6H12O6
C8H10N4O2
H2O
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Organic Chemistry

• What makes Carbon Special?
• Carbon atoms can bond together to form long
  chains and complex rings.

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Carbon can form immensely diverse compounds, from
simple to complex.
Complex Molecule
Simple Molecule
DNA with tens of Billions of Carbon atoms
Methane with 1 Carbon atom
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Biomolecules

• Carbohydrates
• Lipids
• Proteins
• Nucleic Acids

4 main molecules involved in life
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Polymers and Monomers

• Biomolecules are macromolecules.
• Macromolecules are Polymers made up of Monomers.

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Monomers

• Monomer
• Monosaccharide (sugar)
• Hydrocarbon chains
• Amino acids
• Nucleotides

• Macromolecule
• Carbohydrates
• Lipids
• Proteins
• Nucleic acids

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Carbohydrates

• Made of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms
• Job provide living things with energy
• Examples sugars and starches (corn, rice,
  potato, bread)

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Lipids

• Made of long chains of carbon and hydrogen atoms
  (with some oxygen).
• Job store energy, repel water
• Examples fats and oils (butter, cheese, oil)

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Saturated vs. Unsaturated Fat

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Proteins

• Made of Nitrogen, Carbon,
• Hydrogen, and other atoms
• Job Many different jobs in our bodies
• Examples Enzymes, muscles, hair

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Nucleic Acids

• Made of Phosphorous, Carbon, Nitrogen, Oxygen,
  and Hydrogen atoms
• Job Store genetic information
• Examples DNA, RNA